Lessons
by Blackmoondragon1415
Summary: Alive for only half a day, Frosty's had to jump on the ball when it comes to learning about being alive. Stationed during the original movie. R&R, please.
1. Chapter 1: Birthday

_Lessons_:

Yeah, this is me trying to get back with writing after school and original works. Also, a little bit of holiday craze thrown in here. Besides, this has always been a good movie to me as a kid, and, like many fanficers, I had to try my luck at it. Enjoy and leave some crit!

* * *

_Birthday:_

"Happy birthday!" It was, technically, the first thing to come to mind. The second thing he realized was that he had indeed _spoke_. "Hey! I said my first words! But, but snowmen can't talk."

Chuckling, somewhat giddy with the idea of supposed life, he looked down at the ring of children standing before him. "Alright, come on now, what's the joke? Could-could I really be alive?"

" I mean, I can make words, I can move," He confirmed that be stomping his foot on the snow-padded ground, "I can juggle," Again validated when a child gleefully tossed him a line of snowballs, which he was able to juggle one-handed. Something about this was making him feel excited, that he could do all these things. Did it mean he was, indeed, alive?

"I can sweep!" The broom bristles were brushed enthusiastically over the snow to prove the point.

"I can count to ten!" Frosty thought aloud, counting on his fingers. He managed to get to five before he began to switch the numbers around.

"Well, I can count to five." He amended sheepishly, before laughing.

"What'd you know? I'm even ticklish! In fact, I'm all living! I am alive!" The snowman paraded over the snow, the joyful looks of the children only fueling his eagerness.

"What a neat thing to happen to a nice guy like me."


	2. Chapter 2: Temperature

_Temperature:_

The euphoria of being alive was abruptly squashed when a sudden wave of heat overtook the snowman. "Uh, oh."

"What's the matter, Frosty?" One of the children, a rather sharp-minded girl named Karen asked. The after-mentioned snow-person, however, was a bit preoccupied at the moment.

"Is there a thermometer around here?"

"Over there on the wall. Why?"

Eyes following her pointing finger, Frosty was disheartened to notice the mercury in the little glass tube rising steadily.

"I was afraid of that. The thermometer's getting red. I hate red thermometers." He offered by way of explanation, hands folded together as he tried to keep his mind of the sudden heat.

"Why, Frosty?" Karen persisted.

"Because when the thermometer gets all reddish, the temperature goes up. And when the temperature goes up, I start to melt, and when I start to melt I get all wishy-washy." He explained, giving a helpless shrug.

"Then you have to go someplace where you'd never melt." The girl concluded with certainty.

"The only place I'd never melt is the North Pole." Frosty replied, wistfully looking up as though the eternally-snowy landscape was somewhere in the clouds.

"Then we've got to get you there."


	3. Chapter 3: What

_What:_

The initial plan of taking Frosty through the town to get to the train station seemed to flow without a hitch, even with the fact that multiple people were staring at the _walking and talking_ snowman with nothing short of amazement. The almost comical part of it all was when Frosty reached the crossing guard stationed in the square, he had no idea that he was supposed to stop.

"STOP! STOP! **STOOOP**!" The irate policeman hollered, immediately bringing all traffic to a halt as he regarded the wintry offender. "Alright, didn't you see that traffic light?"

"What's a traffic light?" Frosty innocently asked, totally baffled by the string of words that had come from the lawman. This only seemed to further aggravate him, as he leaned in closer to make his point clear.

"Up there on the lamppost!"

"What's a lamppost?" The snowman came back with, inadvertently mimicking the looming stance. Pulling off a bit, the by now greatly-frustrated officer of the law drew out his last weapon with a smirk.

"Oh, you want a ticket, wise guy?"

If he had been hoping this would be enough to mollify Frosty, he had been sadly mistaken. The snowman's mind immediately jumped to the idea of _train_ tickets.

"I'd love one! To the North Pole, please!"

Given that the poor man was baffled out of his mind by the response, Karen chose that moment to jump into the melee.

"You've got to excuse him, sir. You see, he just came to life, and he doesn't really know much about such things."

To his credit, the police officer seemed somewhat relieved to simply get this problem out of the intersection.

"Well, okay, if he just came to life." A quick blow on the whistle and a sweeping gesture sent the small party onward. Albeit, he was still smarting over the whole misunderstanding.

"That silly snowman. Once they come to life they don't know nothing…"

Then reality kicked back in and he found himself actually processing what had just come out of his mouth.

"C-come to life?"


	4. Chapter 4: Disappointment

_Disappointment:_

The train station itself was relatively quiet, the only thing making any sort of noise being the snoring teller behind the grated window.

"We'd like a ticket, to the North Pole, please."

The scruffy man jerked awake with a snort, immediately slipping into the mode he usually used when addressing a customer.

"What? North Pole? Oh, yes ma'am…"

Frosty watched with curiosity as the elderly man expertly strung out a long strip of tickets, which quickly turned to stunned surprise when the long strips of paper somehow wound up strung all around him like a ticket-boa constrictor. Somehow, the pile of tags managed to make it's way down to the ticket-sellers hands, in an easy-to-manage strip.

"Route here by the way is Sasacatuan, Hudson Bay, Nome Alaska, the Klondike and Aurora Borealis…" He rattled off from the destinations, folding them down into a stack. "That'll make a change to Nanuk of the Northdew…

"That'll be three thousand dollars and four cents, including tax." He finished, this time addressing Frosty and Karen through the window.

The girl's face fell. "Oh, we don't have any money."

"NO MONEY!" The surprised holler sent the tickets awry again, leaving the now-disgruntled teller in a net of paper. "No money, no ticket!"

And with that, he slammed the window closed, the sign above coming off one of its nails from the force. Frosty, though he had watched the whole exchange with something close to hope, couldn't help but feel as though the teller had just brought down more than the screen to the ticket window.

"Now I'll never get to the North Pole." He said quietly, more for himself, but a following exclamation from behind told him that someone else had heard.

"Oh, Frosty! You just can't melt!"

Turning around, he briefly got a glimpse of watery eyes before Karen latched onto him in a hug.

"Aw, Karen, don't you get all slushy too." Was the only thing he could really think of to say in reply.


	5. Chapter 5: Cold

_Cold:_

The solution to the lack of transportation seemed to be a god-send. Riding in a refrigerated train car filled with holiday goodies was an interesting experience for the snowman, his eyes taking in all of the different cakes and ice cream that lay stacked about. Hocus, the magician's rabbit, sat somewhere off to the side, wedged a bit in between a few boxes. The calm state of mind was interrupted when a sudden sneeze came from a shuddering huddle off to his left.

"Are you cold, Karen?" He worriedly asked, immediately berating himself when he realized the answer was obvious. "Now that's a silly question. You wouldn't be sneezing if you weren't cold."

"W-well, just a li-a little…" The child replied before another sneeze stopped her.

Frosty looked around for a moment at the car, suddenly realizing that while this was room temperature for him, the constant cold did absolutely nothing for a child. Despite the fact that this could probably take him all the way over to the North Pole it didn't seem right that Karen, who had been nothing but helpful, would have to freeze.

They simply couldn't stay on the train any longer. As though someone answered him, the little freight train came to a stop. Scooping up Karen, Frosty made his way over to the door, opening it and letting him and the other two passengers out.

Just as soon as their feet touched the ground, the train behind him gave a jerk, and pulled away. On the back, clinging to the underside of the caboose, there was a tall man dressed in green. Frosty hadn't really met him before, only vaguely recognized him. However, the man seemed almost angry at the fact that they had left the train.

"Oh, you tricked me! No fair!"

The snowman watched as he climbed up the railing on the back end of the caboose, and finally made a leap off of the car before it could get too far away. The result was something of a spectacular tumble-and-roll down the steep hill on the side of the track, and Frosty had to suppress a wince as he crashed into a tree, bringing down a ton of snow on his head.


	6. Chapter 6: Walk

_Walk:_

The forest surrounding the tracks was hardly any better when it came to heat. While Frosty was unaffected by the cold, the two he was traveling with were not. Even Hocus was shivering now, and Karen's sneezes had grown more numerous as the minutes went on. Although the snowman could sort of block out the wind a bit, it didn't help that he was made of snow, and also not a very good heat insulator himself.

With a worried frown, he gazed down at the trembling girl, racking his short memory for anything he could use to help her, coming up empty. Still, there was one other that could help them.

"Hocus, I've got to get Karen all warmed up, or she's a goner!"

The ever-obliging white rabbit mimed striking a match on the ground, and igniting it to build…

"I can't make a fire." Frosty murmured in response, immediately recognizing the pantomime. Help or not, snow and fire simply did not mix. Or rather, they mixed a bit too well. He knew that well enough. "Oh, boy, that's one thing I really can't do. Guess we just better keep moving until we find someone who can."

And they resumed their trek through the blustery, wintry woods, Frosty trying to shut out the wind as best he could.


	7. Chapter 7: Charades

_Charades:_

It was certain that they had an amazing stroke of luck. After several more minutes of wandering, they had happened upon a glen of trees, home to a group of animals who were nice enough to build the freezing Karen a fire. While Frosty couldn't deny the fact that he felt much better now that the girl was out of harm's way, the flames made him somewhat nervous by default. It was the whole reason why he had moved out to a spot a bit more secluded, a small rise a little ways away from Karen, far enough that he was out of the way of the fire.

Though, the snowman was by no means alone up there. Hocus had hopped over, chittering away as though in conversation, which Frosty was eager to supply.

"Hocus, we need to find someone to get Karen home before she freezes, and me to the North Pole before I melt, but who?" True, the rabbit couldn't really answer back, but he did have a few good ideas. The first was of a person with a helmet, crouched in a hole.

"No, not the Marines."

Another was of a person signing a document of sorts.

"No, not the President of the United States." Frosty answered, mollified when he noticed the irritated expression on the rabbit's face. "Oh, they were both swell ideas, but we've got to find someone nearby."

As though struck by inspiration, Hocus suddenly began to pat snow around his face, making it into a beard. The snowman caught on immediately.

"Yeah! Santa Claus! That's a great idea! Why didn't I think of that before?"


	8. Chapter 8: Run

_Run:_

The initial plan was that they would wait until Santa came, and then fix the matter of transportation for both Frosty and Karen from there. However, in order to make it work, they would have to be sure to catch St. Nick before he could leave the forest. While Karen warmed up near the fire the animals had constructed, Frosty waited off in his little edge of the clearing, watching the sky for any signs of reindeer and sleighs. It was well after dark when he noticed something off down by Karen.

The man that had jumped off the train after them was back. Although it wasn't very easy to tell what he was saying, it became very clear that something was wrong when he suddenly blew out the fire.

"No! Don't!" Frosty yelled, running down the hill and towards them. Without the fire, Karen would freeze! Noticing the approaching snowman, the man turned to him.

"Now, give me that hat or else!" He demanded, stopping off the fear with confusion.

"Or else, what?"

"Well…don't bother me with details! Give me that hat!" He roared back in reply, and Frosty ducked to the side to avoid him as he lurched forward. He needed the hat, it was what brought him to life, and kept him there. He came down right next to the slightly stunned little girl.

"Get on my shoulders, Karen."

Once she had jumped aboard, Frosty took off down the hill, sliding like a snowy, makeshift sled, although going far faster than any toboggan around.


	9. Chapter 9: Poinsettia

_Poinsettia: _

By the time the pair stopped, they were right at the bottom of the hill. What immediately stood out to them were the lights to a greenhouse, used to grow what looked like poinsettias. Karen only vaguely knew what they were, given that her mother only bought them once every couple of years. Frosty, for all of his inexperienced opinion, thought they appeared rather nice-looking. However, there was still the matter of Karen needing a new heat source.

"It's got to be all warm and snug inside for those Christmas flowers that grow so beautiful. Let's go in."

At first, Karen's face fell.

"Oh, but, you will melt."

"Just a little. I'll only stay inside for a minute." He reassured, then tried for some humor. "Besides, I've been meaning to take off a little weight anyway."

He almost regretted it when he walked in to feel what seemed like a wall of heat ram him head-on. Sighing somewhat, and heartened when Karen stopped shivering, he couldn't help but make a hapless remark about the situation.

"Stay in here much longer and I'll really make a splash in the world."

Hitting on the mark, Karen gave a small giggle, prompting a small grin from the snowman in return.

However, the tender moment was cut short when the door to the greenhouse suddenly slammed, and Frosty stared at the triumphant grin of Professor Hinkle.

"Now I've got you! And the minute you're all melted the hat will be mine!"

The somewhat crazy laughter that followed did not help the silicon weight of dread that dropped through the mood like a rock through wet paper.


	10. Chapter 10: Rebirth

_Rebirth:_

For a long, long time, there was a weird disjointed feeling in Frosty. It was still uncomfortably warm, but he couldn't really focus long enough. He wondered if this was what sleeping felt like.

Suddenly, a brisk, almost refreshing burst of cold washed over him, and he seemed to regather in some way. But, there was still something missing, something that he needed very much if he wanted to be, well, alive again.

In what seemed like hours, someone put a hat on his head. But, this hat was like no other. For one thing, with the hat came a burst of magic. Magic that spread throughout the entirety of the snowman, and making it animate enough to open it's eyes, tilt it's head slightly to the side and say…

"Happy Birthday!"


	11. Chapter 11: Goodbye

_Goodbye:_

Turns out, things had come together after he'd melted. Santa Claus had come, bringing him back together and helping in sending off the magician that had been following them earlier.

The best part of all of this was that jolly old St. Nick himself was more than happy to bring Frosty to the North Pole, and bring Karen home. According to him, it wasn't too far out of his way.

Still, while Karen had been ecstatic and happy as a clam the first few minutes of the ride, she had fallen silent, and was resigned to staring off into the expanse bellow them as they flew. Frosty couldn't help but notice the sudden change in her mood, but while it worried him, he lacked the conversational finesse to come out with it. However, he hadn't really needed to; when they landed on the roof of Karen's house, the whole thing came to a head.

Karen had…hesitated to get off the sled, dragging her feet the whole way, and glancing back. Finally, as though the girl could stand it no longer, she ran back, throwing her arms around the somewhat bemused snowman in a hug. Somehow, even without outright saying it, Frosty understood; she was upset to see him go.

All at once, something made itself clear to the snowperson. This did seem like goodbye. They would be whole continents apart, across oceans, if he was to understand how far away the North Pole was from here. He and Karen, the person who he had carried through a freezing forest, and had been with to see him come alive [twice!] would be separated, probably for good.

He couldn't help but hug her back, with all the warmth a snowman could offer.

Still, he did have to put her back down on the roof eventually, too soon for him, and Santa made ready to go the rest of the trip to the North Pole. As they flew away, Frosty watched Karen's figure grow smaller and smaller, her arm waving wildly as he waved goodbye in return.

Return…that was it. This wasn't a permanent goodbye.

He'd be back again someday.

* * *

As you can tell, this was something of an idle project over the past couple days; I usually don't update this fast! Still, it was interesting to expand a bit on things, especially here in this last chapter. I don't think they really did this part as I would have liked. Anyhow, reviews and crit are greatly appreciated, but flames will be put out by Jack Frost.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanzaa, or just Happy Holidays, folks!

PS: To anyone wondering about my more-frequented fandoms, I'm just jumping around a bit right now. I do have ideas for a few of them, but I just felt it would be a good idea to get all these out now.


End file.
